I've been playing in genealogy for over 10 years, off and on. I typically work in short, obsessive spurts for a few months, then hang it up for a year or longer. Recently, I have found some very interesting stories and have been investigating other lines of my family. But still, my focus always comes around to further investigating this story, as this is the foundation of this Blog.
I always come back to this more recent story. The reason for a spelling change of my last name and the division of a family. Prohibition. Yup, the darkest days of our country, when alcohol was not permitted to be manufactured or sold in the united states. These were very dark times for alcohol loving ancestors.
the story as relayed to me from my Grandma Gela Beno.
Back during Prohibition times, [she couldn't remember exactly when], Great-grandpa Andy Bino was making illegal moonshine along with his son-in-law, Joe Palagyi. One cousin wanted free alcohol, more than what Andy thought was fair. [Grandmas said that relative was a bad alcoholic] Andy cut off this cousin and said, no more liquor. He then turned in Andy and Joe for making liquor. They were fine and imprisoned, with fee's totaling $500. That was a huge sum of money then. the Bino relative that turned in their operation, the police informant, was then shunned by my great-grandfather and that side of the family. To distance them further, Great-grandpa Andy Bino changed the name spelling from Bino to Beno.
My research is to prove this story and to find out who and where the disowned side of the family is now. Who was it that turned them in? Grandma Gela said it was a cousin. John Bino and Alex Beno
seem to be part of that cousin line. John Bino is the name of a bother of Andy Bino's.
